Perhaps you are yet to hear of them, or you may even know them well; regardless, Highgrove Thoroughbreds seems to be one of the most rapidly expanding of the thoroughbred racing stables to have recently taken root within Final Furlong. 24-Year-Old Connie Fae is the granddaughter of recently deceased Geoff Fae, a man who worked hard into old age to create a self sufficient racing stable with impressive winners and dedicated staff. Unfortunately, during his illness their stock was reduced to numbers of but a few. It was not long after her takeover, having inherited the property, that Ms Fae began to refill empty yards and restore the 250-acre farm back to it's prior glory. Connie modestly admits her knowledge of racing thoroughbreds is still developing, and that the property's young manager and head trainer, Leo Turner, is to thank for many of their recent successes on the track.

"My grandfather made it very clear in his illness that Leo (Turner) was to remain as a valued team-member; he even went to the degree of ensuring I signed a contract which bound him to Highgrove for a minimum of twelve months," with a laugh, she added, "I'm glad he did, I couldn't be doing this without Leo." Ms Fae informs that Mr Turner had long been Geoff's apprentice; he started as a teenager cleaning stables and strapping horses, and it quickly became apparent he had a natural talent for not only eyeing premium racing stock, but training them. In reality, it is three new additions acquired through the advice of red-headed Mr Turner that brings us this article today.

The recent dispersal sale of Valkyrie Stables has seen a lot of excited commotion amoungst the local racing industry. The long-time trainers and breeders were thinning out their racing crops in order to focus more heavily on producing quality youngsters from their impressive lineup of breeding stock. Much to the excitement of other trainers in the industry, who are already expressing interest in the purchase of Valkyrie's platinum-bred yearlings at the end of the season. As a result of the sale, Highgrove obtained three impressive new horses, pre-prepared with solid experience on the track.

Hurricane is a bay gelding currently running his classic year and succeeding on the turf over 9+ furlongs. Many buyers were potentially discouraged by the fact the horse had been gelded, a somewhat uncommon choice in this day and age. However Valkyrie insisted the decision had been the best one for him; making the high-strung thoroughbred easier to work with and much more focused, both on the track and in his training. Highgrove were immediately captivated by him, keen to fill a large male-horse-void in their 3yo crop. Since his arrival, Cane has deterred many staff from wanting to handle him, likely with thanks to his sour lack of patience. Mr Turner however, seems utterly in his element: “What is a thoroughbred without attitude and spirit?” All the while smiling, “Hurricane and I will be a good team - we are just as antisocial as eachother.”

Truly Limitless is a stunning chestnut filly, by the well-known and proven Flash Limits and out of Trust Limits. Her admirable breeding is typical of Valkyrie’s horses, who’s educated-choice pairings always seem to pay off in the winning circle. She was the first to catch the eye of Highgrove representatives, perhaps a polar-opposite to the above mentioned Hurricane. “I was sold by her easy nature and beautiful, gentle face. It’s obviously not a reliable judgement to go off when selecting athletes,” Connie commented with a bemused laugh, “So I was pleasantly surprised when Leo suggested we buy her, based on his knowledge of her breeding. She is going to be my project; I’m always drawn to the horses with good temperaments, while Leo leans hard towards the most difficult horses in our string. I think it’s the red hair.”

Lastly, but most certainly not least, Criosphinx was the final addition to the Highgrove herd on the day. There were undoubtedly envious faces of other sale-buyers as the impressive four year old was approved ownership to the new-ish stable. Mr Turner says the chestnut stallion is an impressive animal, with conformation typical of a successful sprinter and with the amazing record to show for it he was a steal. The 15.3 hand thoroughbred is of new breeding, so will prove to be a very valuable addition to the sprinting gene pool in future years. We questioned why Valkyrie might have parted with him; “I couldn’t tell you that, but I’m glad they did. I don’t doubt we can get this guy to Grade 1 by the end of the year, and upon retirement Valkyrie would be more than welcome to have some of their mares pay him a visit. Even if we stopped running him now I don’t doubt he’d be an amazing sire; we are very excited for what the future holds with him.”